About this project

Ripcord - The plug 'n play anywhere USB power cable

€28,272

pledged of €25,000 goal

688

backers

Power your guitar pedals, amps, synths, on the fly.

Do you ever get inspired when you least expect it?

With Ripcord, you get the freedom to play wherever you are.

You already power your phones and tablets with USB, now you can power your guitar pedals, amps, synths, and whatever else you need on the fly. No more lost inspiration, replacing batteries or trying to find a plug socket.

With Ripcord, you can power from your laptop or phone charger, or with the added freedom of USB Powerbanks or solar power. You can even power your gear straight from your phone!

What the press are saying...

It's one thing to have a portable music making setup that you can fit in a backpack, but you still need some way of powering it. It's not so much of a problem if all you have is a fully-charged laptop or iPad and a MIDI controller, but what if your rig also contains compact synths, FX pedals and an amp, for example?

......it sounds like the good and earnest people at MyVolts.com, developer of the Ripcord, have a lot of this figured out. ......the group photo of the MyVolts team makes them look like a renegade Oscars orchestra with a chip on their shoulder and past they can't quite escape, so let's root for them.

"That myVolts solution, I think it's absolutely brilliant. I'm delighted to have it, because it really does make me want to use them <Korg Volcas> more. Which is what they are for." Gaz Williams - Bassist and Music Technologist

Do you remember a time when you couldn't carry all the music in the world around in your pocket?

It was only 15 years ago that Steve Jobs found a 5GB Toshiba Hard Drive that he knew could fit a thousand songs. He used that technology to put all your music in your pocket. With the iPod, he made playing your music truly personal.

50 Years earlier, Texas instruments used the first transistors to build the Recency TR-1. All of a sudden teenagers didn't have to crowd around the living room wireless.

The TR-1 meant that they could retreat to their bedroom and listen to their music. Add a little bit of Elvis, and the air guitar was born.

Each evolution of technology brings new possibilities, at myVolts, we think USB is rapidly becoming the power option of choice.

We call Ripcord the 'play everywhere' cable. We hope it makes the playing of music more personal; giving you the freedom to create whenever and whereever you want. It takes a developing technology and puts it to good use. It was a great idea waiting to happen.

Our first step was to make a small batch version of the cable.

Then, we got thousands of musicians to use it.

We listened to their feedback, then redesigned to make sure it was everything they needed it to be.

Some feedback from early testers:

"I used the USB converter with my MacBook Pro; tried it with a Boss MZ-2/Boss TU-3/MXR Badass ’78 Distortion pedals. All worked flawlessly with the Mac's PSU in or out, out - there didn’t seem to be any significant battery drain." Danny Davies, engineering, pre-production on New Order's "Music Complete" LP

"The USB power supplies come in handy; they work great with the abundance of USB phone charger plugs around too." Cian, Moose Electronics Dublin - Custom Guitar Pedals

"Power up to five Korg Volcas via this USB adaptor - perfect for the laptop musician on the go as well as someone like me with a desktop setup." Chris Smout, Music Bunker blog

Ripcord will increase the standard 5 volts up to 9 meaning musicians can power their equipment from any laptop, battery pack or even their smartphone. - Colm Smyth, Ireland’s Technology Blog

Learn how this €12 USB cable can help you expand the number of locations you can use your guitar, keyboard or instruments. -Julian Horsey, Geeky Gadgets

Ripcord is a novel cable that lets users power devices and music equipment from anywhere you can charge your phone – Silicone Ireland News Wire

Feedback from musicians playing at our 8 hour music event:

It’s hard to believe all the power for the music equipment was coming via the Ripcord! Definitely recommend this product to any musician!" - Stevie Cliff, singer/songwriter

"myVolts has made music much more portable to the public and musicians alike. The thought of powering devices for hours on one battery pack takes out the stress of carrying batteries so musicians can focus more on the music and less on power. – Lyle Garces, LCG Music